Hapur lynching: Main accused out on bail, victim’s kin say cops diluted case

MEERUT: Yudhisthir Sisodia, the main accused in the Hapur lynching case, in which a man named Qasim was beaten to death on suspicion of cow slaughter on June 19, has been granted bail by the sessions court against a bond of Rs 1 lakh.
The development has left local police red-faced as it had apparently put together a strong case against the 11 accused based on video footage of the crime and the testimony of the victim’s friend, Samaydeen, who was allegedly severely injured by the mob.
“A person accused under section 302 (murder) of the IPC normally doesn't get bail easily. I can't afford to comment on the court order but we had put together the statement of the victim's family, video footage of the incident and other corroborative evidence in the case diary," Sankalp Sharma, Hapur superintendent said.
Apart from Yudhisthir, three others — Rakesh Sisodia, Sonu and Kanu — all residents of Bajehra Khurd villlage were arrested in the case. “The court had issued non-bailable warrants against 11 accused. Seven of them are still on the run,” Sharma added.
Meanwhile, the victim’s family members have accused cops of diluting the case by pushing the theory that it was a case of road rage, not lynching. They have also said that they feared for their safety, now that the main accused was out on bail.
“This is what we are left with. A person accused of murder and attempt to murder walks out on bail in a fortnight. Police investigation has been a sham since the beginning and they barely made the effort to make a watertight case against the accused,” said Mohammed Yaseen, Samaydeen's younger brother and complainant in the case.
“We are being told that soon all the other accused men will be out on bail and the other side is preparing for a cross FIR to bargain about the murder charges. We fear we will continue to be victimized despite being the victims’ side,” Yaseen added.
TOI had earlier reported that the victims’ families had allegedly been coerced by police to stick to the road rage version. “Initially I was confused about what had led to the attack. An acquaintance wrote the police complaint and I signed it after the police threatened us with dire consequences if we acted otherwise,” Yaseen had then alleged.